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Posted Fri, 07/03/2009 - 7:50pm by admin

Community Mediation Maryland was founded and incorporated in 1999 by a number of community mediation centers working in conjunction with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission, now the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO). Community Mediation Maryland worked with MACRO to establish stable funding from the Maryland Judiciary for community mediation centers and to design a funding model. This model is unique in that it maintains the grassroots focus of community mediation centers while rewarding centers for performance.

In the first two years of operation, Community Mediation Maryland supported the developed of five new community mediation centers in Maryland. Since then Community Mediation Maryland has supported the development of four new centers and continues to work with communities who are not served by a community mediation center to develop centers in those areas.

Community Mediation Maryland supports centers through training, technical assistance, and the development of partnerships with state-wide agencies and organizations. Community Mediation Maryland receives a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Maryland Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism to recruit, train, place, and supervise over 20 AmeriCorps members in centers throughout Maryland.

Community Mediation Maryland has a Training Department which provides free training to all community mediation centers in Maryland in the following areas:

Basic Mediation Training

Parenting Plan Mediation Training

Parent-Teen Mediation Training

Large Group Facilitation

Specialized and Advanced Mediation Skills

Community Mediation Maryland's Training Department also has a program to apprentice new trainers and a mentorship program for new mediators. Community Mediation Maryland's training department has conducted contracted training for several state agencies and organizations, including the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings, the Maryland Department of Human Resources, the Office of the Public Defender, as well as several trainings for the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Community Mediation Maryland has established partnerships with state agencies and organizations to increase access to community mediation and conflict resolution services throughout the state.